Paulaner Original Münchner Hell (Premium Lager)

Brewed by Paulaner Brauerei (Schörghuber)
Style: Dortmunder/Helles
Munich, Germany

Clear golden lager with a spritzy bead and metallic aroma. Insipidly malty and watery with only the vaguest trace of Pils-like bitterness. Possibly very true to the pale Munich style, but could easily be any one of a million interchangeable gassy bland lagers. Tastes like cheap canned lager, out of a bottle. Not one to seek out again.

Light bright golden colour with a light foamy white head. The aroma is grassy and crisp with a light touch of sugar. The lightly bitter body contains a semi-sweet malt presence and a crisp leafiness. Not a bad lager in my opinion, but fairly generic.

Bread and malt aroma and a hint of hops. A solid german lager balanced between sweet and bitter, simple, straight forward with a hint of spice. Dry finish. Not fantastic but still a good brew for a KC Chiefs pre season game.

Clear golden-yellow body with a short lived white head. A bit bready with some pilsner-ish hops on the nose. Taste is bready malt, floury, honey and some faint crisp hops. The soft carbonation makes it feel even more bland. By premium lager standard this is probably above average but by beer standard I find it slightly below average. I usually find the words Premium Lager and Hell to be somewhat synonymous.

This is a lager? Well if so, then it’s an awesome one - very mild, no traces of alcohol, well balanced. Soft fruity notes, so typical of the brewer are also present. Good

12oz bottle. Pale clear golden hue with sparse bubbling. Initially fair white head slowly diminishes to nothingness. Focused pils malt nose plays the note of very fresh breadiness, not without DMS undertones, but they’re perfectly acceptable in that measure. Tart on the palate with soft minty and herbal hops procuring an adequate bitterness while the malt is sweet enough, slightly vegetal and almost fruity. Globally pleasant balance, remaining on the soft side, floral and decently biting malt. Light bodied, soft carbonation nonetheless has a bite. Slightly salty towards the finish, soda crackers like. Authentic, refreshing and straightforward, without the richness of the best example, but smooth enough for a session.

0.5 L bottle. Drank on 7/11/06. Very clear light yellow with a big creamy 2" white head. Drops slowly to a fairly thick layer of foam. A little lacing. Aroma - A little sweetness, some bananas. Little noble hop spice aroma. Flavor - Sharp and crisp up front. Pretty well balanced, but still crisp and lagerlike on the tongue. Some nice subtle german yeast and noble hop character. Almost a lemony finish as it warms. Palate - pretty light. Nice, crisp carbonation, but still smooth. A tiny bit dry, but not real dry. Overall - A very nice and easily drinkable lager. Nice body, very refreshing, and enough character to keep it interesting.

Bottled (BB 04/2007). Golden color, decent white head. Fruity malty, slightly cardboardish nose. Medium-bodied. Malty, lightly fruity-sweet, grassy hops. Malty aftertaste. Quite boring hell/premium lager.